


Chocobo Hats and Fish Cake

by battle_goats



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Birthday Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-01
Updated: 2018-09-01
Packaged: 2019-07-05 06:48:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,685
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15858393
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/battle_goats/pseuds/battle_goats
Summary: It's Noctis's first birthday without his father.





	Chocobo Hats and Fish Cake

In a perfect world, Noctis would have spent his twenty-first birthday standing before an altar and stuttering through his wedding vows as the world watched.  In any world, it’s the first birthday he has to go without his father.

When he woke up, it was trapped in a pile of his friends.  The four of them had long given up the pretense of giving each other space and instead chose to sleep in a pile in the middle of their tent.  Noctis let himself drift off to sleep again, and didn’t stir as the other awoke for the day.

When he finally did wake up, it was to Ignis shaking his shoulder.

“Iggy?” he asked, his voice still groggy with sleep.

“It’s time to get up and eat, your Highness.  We’ve some things to do today,” Ignis said. Noctis nodded and he sat up.  Ignis stepped out of the tent and left Noctis to get up. Noctis stretched and quickly changed into his fatigues.

He stepped out into a muggy Duscaen morning.  Ignis shoved a cup of coffee and a plate of eggs and bacon into his hands.

“Eat quickly, please, we’ve a long drive ahead of us, today,” he said.  Noctis nodded and slumped into his chair to eat. Around him, the others were packing up camp and taking things back to the car.  Noctis finished eating and handed his dishes off to Ignis who rushed off to wash them. In the meantime, he helped Gladio collapse their tent.

They were packed up and seated in the car.  

“So, back to Hammerhead, right?” Noctis asked.

“Hammerhead first, then we have a second destination after,” Ignis said.  The engine roared to life and he pulled out of the parking spot.

Noctis found himself dozing through much of the drive, feeling tired and lethargic despite having gotten the most sleep out of the four of them.  It wasn’t until he pulled out his phone to play King’s Knight when he realized why he had been feeling off all day.

The lock screen prominently displayed the date and time.

“Oh,” he breathed.

“What is it?” Gladio asked.

“I-I forgot today’s my birthday,” he said.  He saw Ignis’s eyes flick over the rearview mirror to look at him, and Prompto had gone stiff in the front seat.  He already knew what they were all thinking, because they all knew how he had celebrated his birthday nearly every single year.

Once a year, his father would cancel all his meetings and shove all his responsibilities onto his advisers, and would take Noctis out on a day trip outside Insomnia.  They had never gone far. They would spend the day off of the Lucinian Sound shore, just north of Keycatrich. Until that ill-fated trip to Tenebrae, it had been the only place he had ever been outside of Insomnia.

Noctis ignored the King’s Knight icon on his home screen and instead pulled up his camera roll.  His phone had a good three year’s worth of birthday pictures. He scrolled through them, smiling fondly, though the pain in his chest tightened at the sight of his father, looking as carefree as he could possibly be with a war banging on his doorstep, and a semi-sentient rock draining his life force.

Noctis’s twentieth birthday had them camping out for the night at a haven, a cake baked by Ignis oh so carefully packed away so it wouldn’t be ruined by bumpy roads, and freshly caught grilled fish for dinner.

Despite the scowl on Noctis’s face in the photo, he remembered still feeling fond of the silly party hat his father had shoved on his head while Cor snapped pictures.  There were a few photos of Noctis standing on the rocks, fishing rod in hand. There was a selfie of his father and Cor, both sipping cheap Lucian beer, wearing party hats.  He scrolled down to his nineteenth birthday, and found photos of them all sitting around the fire. Clarus was with them that year, looking serious and severe with his own party hat.  The hats were a tradition, started when Noctis was four. He remembered Cor putting one on his head, and then he insisted that everyone else wear them. They were a requirement at every single birthday, no matter how old he got, or how much he thought he was too cool for them.

For the first time since Insomnia fell, he felt tears prick his eyes.  Noctis set his phone down and resolutely looked out across the landscape so no one could see the upset on his face.  The woods of Duscae gave way to the dusty plains of Leide, and they pulled into Hammerhead an hour later.

Noctis steeled himself for unwanted social interaction with Cindy and Takka.  He got dragged into a conversation with Cindy regarding the Regalia while Prompto awkwardly hovered nearby.  He caught Ignis and Gladio with their heads bent together, deep in some kind of conversation. Before he could escape Cindy, Ignis wandered off towards Takka’s diner.  Noctis finally escaped Cindy’s enthusiastic clutches and headed for the diner to deliver the bean shipment Takka had asked them to pick up.

As he entered the diner, Ignis stepped out, and he looked oddly pleased.  Noctis greeted Takka and handed off the beans after a short conversation. Noctis stepped out and felt absolutely drained.  He had barely spoken to anyone all day, and yet he felt like he had had his fill of social interaction. He just wanted to curl up in the back seat and sleep.

With their one errand for the day done, Noctis sat in the car and quickly fell asleep.  He woke up briefly with the other three joined him and Ignis started the car, but he didn’t ask where they were headed next.  

 

Noctis awoke with a jolt when the car transitioned from paved to dirt road.  He looked up blearily.

“Where are we?” he asked.

“We’re passing the Hunter HQ towards Keycatrich,” Ignis answered.  Noctis didn’t say anything as they drove on by. He leaned back and sighed.

He shut his eyes again, not really watching the world go by.  He could hardly consider this to be his worst birthday ever - even if in comparison to the twenty before it, it was.  But at least he wasn’t dead.

The Regalia slowed to a stop and he took a moment to really take in the scenery.  They had parked on a cliff, overlooking the Lucinian Sound. He knew this place. He had seen it, once a year, nearly every year since he was four.  He clambered out of the car and stood at the edge of the cliff to taken in the sight of the cold, dark water.

It was windier here than in Cape Caem, and the waters darker.  With how far north it was, it was much chillier, even in the middle of the afternoon.

He turned around to see the others unloading the car, preparing to carry it all down the pathway to the haven located closer to the water.  Gladio had all four chairs clutched in one arm, while the other carried two of their duffel bags. Ignis had the cooking gear, and Prompto carried the tent, and the other two duffel bags.

“Guys, I - what?”

“I contacted the Marshal for the coordinates to this location.  We thought a continuation of the tradition was in order,” Ignis said.  Prompto nodded along. Noctis felt like he wanted to cry again.

“Okay.” he said.  He lead the way down the somewhat narrow path to the rocky sand below.  The haven was set against the cliff, away from the high tide line. There was also a good fishing spot in the shallows, not too far away, either.

They quickly set up camp, and Ignis shooed Noctis towards the fishing spot with orders to relax and catch them dinner.

Noctis got comfortable and set to work with the fishing.  Prompto kept him company with quiet chatter, and the sound of his camera shutter.

“This place is really nice.  It’s a bit cold, though,” he said. Noctis hummed.  The waters north of Lucis had always been that way.

“My dad would bring me here every year for my birthday.  The only time he didn’t, was for my ninth. I still wasn’t strong enough for the trip, so we settled for a little garden party at the Citadel.  I was disappointed, since we only come out here once a year. But when I got a little older, I understood. The walk down here would have been impossible for me, then.

He reeled a small fish and tossed it back into the water.  It wasn’t nearly large enough for them to eat. He cast his line again, and heard the click of Prompto’s camera shutter.  He was feeling tired again. Tired of people, of being surrounded. He wanted a moment to himself.

“Prompto, could you give me a hand please?” Ignis called from the haven.  Noctis felt his shoulders relax. Ignis had always been good at sensing his moods.  Even at ridiculous distances.

“Sure thing!  I’ll leave you to it, buddy,” Prompto said.  Noctis didn’t turn around, just nodded and stared out over the water.  Now that Prompto wasn’t hovering, and fidgeting, the fish weren’t being scared off.  Noctis reeled in a big one almost immediately. He managed to get it into the bucket of water with only some flailing.  

He sat and re-spooled his line, listening to the water crash against the rocks.  It was comforting in it’s own way. This spot brought back far more memories than he cared to deal with, but he didn’t mind.  Noctis still remembered being a tiny four year old, his dad sitting at his back, his large, worn hands guiding him into his first cast.  Helping him hold the little child-sized rod. He only caught one fish that day. A tiny thing his dad had tossed back into the water.

“When we come back, that fish will be too big for your little line, but I’m sure one day, you’ll be able to reel in a big one,” he had said.  Noctis had been disappointed, but he had seen his father’s fishing rod. While he could lift it, he knew that any fish it could hook would just drag him into the water.  His dad had only ruffled his hair and carried him back to the haven where a small candle lit cake waited. Dad and Cor had sung him a very off-key rendition of the birthday song.  He had fallen asleep on the car ride back to the Citadel. To his young mind, it had been the best birthday ever.

Noctis blinked when his lure bobbed and the line started to run.  He got to work, and pretended the stinging in his eyes and the wetness on his face was just ocean water.

It didn’t take long to have five decently sized fish in his bucket.  And it was more than early enough still for Ignis to have time to prep them into something delicious.  He had been so focused on the fish and his memories that he hadn’t even noticed that streamers and fairy lights had been strung up around the camp.  The lights were being powered by a small generator. It definitely wasn’t theirs.

“Wow, guys, this is incredible!” he said.  The somber mood he’d been feeling much of the day lifted just a bit. “Where did you get the generator.”

“We borrowed it from Cindy,” Prompto said.  He snapped a photo of Noctis as Gladio came up behind him and put a party hat on his.  

“Rented, more like,” Ignis muttered.  He slid a hat onto his own head as Gladio and Prompto did the same thing.  The hats were chocobo themed. Definitely Prompto’s doing.

“Come on, we gotta get a picture of all of us in our hats,” Prompto said.  He beckoned Gladio and Ignis closer. The four of them crowded together and Prompto snapped the selfie.  Once that was done, Ignis relieved Noctis of the fish and set to work preparing it. Gladio steered Noct into his seat around a low table, probably also “borrowed” from Cindy.  There was a deck of cards sitting on it.

“Ready to get your ass kicked, birthday boy?” Gladio asked.

“You sure it isn’t the other way around?” Noctis replied.  He sat down and their hands were dealt. They played until Ignis announced dinner, and revealed a beautifully poached fish with roasted potatoes and vegetables.  And there was nary a green on Noctis’s plate.

“Consider this my gift to you, your highness,” Ignis said.  Noctis smiled with a soft laugh. They ate their dinner, enjoying every bite.  In Noctis’s opinion, this was easily Ignis’s best camp meal yet.

When they finished, Ignis collected the dishes and dumped them in the basin he kept for washing up.

“Are you ready for dessert, Noct?” he asked.  Noctis felt comfortably full already, but the possibility of dessert was tempting.

“As ready as I’ll ever be,” he said.

“Gladio, clear the table, please,” Ignis said.  Gladio gathered up the playing cards and slid the deck into its box.  He tossed it through the open flap of their tent where it landed against his duffel bag.  Ignis brought over a platter and set it on the table. Sitting in the center was a frosted cake in the shape of a fish.

Noctis couldn’t help himself and started laughing.  It was so ridiculous and silly. Here they all were, grown men, wearing chocobo themed party hats, and about to cut into a chocolate frosted cake shaped like a fish.  When he calmed, Ignis had placed a trio of candles in the center and lit them.

“If you’ve calmed down, I believe it’s time for the birthday song,” Ignis said.  Though he didn’t look particularly excited to sing.

“You don’t have to.  I know Gladio sounds like a dying coeurl when he sings,” Noctis said.  They ignored Gladio’s indignant protest.

“Nevertheless, as we are observing tradition, a poorly sung birthday song is a must,” Ignis said.  He pushed up his glasses and gave Prompto and Gladio a look. The three moved so that they were on one side of the cake, and Noctis was on the other.

And then, they sang.

All things considered, it wasn’t the worst Noctis had ever heard.  Prompto and Ignis could actually carry a tune, and Gladio’s deep voice was more of a pleasant rumble.  As soon as the song ended, Noctis leaned forward and blew out the candles.

“Happy birthday, buddy,” Prompto said as he flung an arm around Noctis’s shoulders.

“Yeah, happy birthday,” Gladio chuckled.  He nudged Noctis on the shoulder and watched the pair nearly stumble over.  Ignis cut into the cake and served them each a piece.

They dug into the cake, and Noctis couldn’t stop the noise he let out of his throat at how good it was.

“I gotta say, Iggy, you’ve really outdone yourself today,” Noctis told him.  He could swear Ignis was blushing just a little.

“It is my pleasure, your highness.”

Noctis had only one bite left of his cake when he paused.  While most of the day had left him feeling oddly empty, it was only now that a feeling of contentment washed over him.  His father might be gone, and his country ripped out from under him, but in that point in time, he was content.

“Guys, I - just, thank you, so much.”

He felt the prick of tears in his eyes again.  He hastily wiped them away and forced the last bite of cake into his mouth to avoid saying anything else.

When they bedded down for the night, Noctis sound himself squished between Gladio and Prompto, who both ran warm, while Ignis’s arm was thrown across Prompto and his hand rested on Noctis’s ribs.  Surrounded by the warmth and love of his friends, and the sound of the sea, and with new memories of one of his favorite places on Eos, he fell into the best sleep he had had in a long time.


End file.
